A statistical study of inversions (slash chords) in popular music.

I had a request lately for information about left handed guitar lessons as there isn’t a great deal of help online for those of the dexterous minority.

Don’t be Left Behind

Well I’ve done some homework and there’s some good news and bad news. The good news is there is an almost unlimited information resource out there to help lefties learn and improve with the guitar. The bad news is that means learning how to interpret right handed playing.

Sorry if I got your hopes up but there is good reason why this is sensible approach. Below is the response from Jamplay.com to a question from me asking if they have any left handed lesson. It does make a lot of sense.

JamPlay does not offer left hand specific guitar instruction.  The reason for this is because a true left handed guitar is restrung to match that of a standard guitar.  As such, all chord shapes, finger and scale positions are exactly the same.

Because the guitar is an ambidextrous instrument, teaching methods don’t differ from the two versions.

Chord charts and tablature, although read left to right, are not designed to mimic a standard guitar.  They are instead a geographical reference to the neck of the guitar based on how it’s strung.  It’s read left to right simply because we read in that format in the English language.

We sometimes get asked to create chord charts or tablature that are “backwards” from this, seemingly mimicking a left handed guitar.  While this is technically possible, learning to read chord charts and tablature in this manor would put you at a large disadvantage later on down the line.

There are no publishing bodies that produce song or lesson transcriptions, lead sheets or tablature books that differ from standard accepted formats.  You would eventually have to learn to read those regardless.

In regards to our lesson content, the only differences are going to be in how you view the videos.  A left handed guitarist will have a view like that of watching yourself play in the mirror, while a standard guitarist has a view more like watching somebody play in front of you.

To Play Left, Get It Right

In other words if a website was to develop a system for left handed players, you would be limited to that system, by learning to interpret right handed lessons or tab (as awkward as that may be to start with), you’ll then be able to follow anyone’s tutoring or tab.

So as well as having a more limited range of instruments to choose from and having to pay more for your guitar when you do find one (yes I’m afraid left handed guitars tend to be more expensive), the best way to learn left handed guitar is from right handed lessons.

This may not have been the news you were wanting to hear but I hope it’s clarified a few questions for you.

To see a full review of , if you have any comments or question please leave them below and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Many thanks.

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